Redeemed club give just reward to Gibson

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FLIGHT BD7953 ferried Middlesbrough from Teesside airport to Eindhoven yesterday, the last leg of an epic 20-year journey that has encompassed relegation to the old third division, liquidation, an application to join the Gola League, a traumatic rebirth and glorious redemption.

Two decades after confronting their demise, the club are preparing for the most celebrated night in their history.

The record books show that Middlesbrough were formed in 1876, but their club crest relates an alternative reality. Middlesbrough Football Club 1986 — it would have been rebranded Sporting Club Middlesbrough if one director’s whims had been appeased — were founded